Too Many Movies...

Alright, so the only summer movies I've commented on so far are Iron Man (awesome), Indy IV (meh), and Wall-E (wonderful). I've seen way more movies than that in the last 3 months, so let's get caught up, shall we?


Speed Racer:
Surprisingly, lots of fun. I think that the weird shiny filter was over-applied towards the beginning of the movie, but they got the over-the-top nature down well ("it's a shame what passes for a ninja these days"), and the car-fu worked remarkably well. I feel like the tone was a bit uneven, but all in all it was loud, flashy, and kinetic enough to do the job it set out for. This is a movie I would have liked to have seen a second time to get a better feel for it after knowing what to expect - literally everybody I know who was on the fence after one viewing liked it a lot more after a second. It's really a shame that it bombed so hard. It probably walks away in the number five slot for movies this summer.

Prince Caspian:
This one is a bit weird. It's kind of like Final Fantasy X-2 in that, without the pedigree, it probably wouldn't be able to get anywhere, but I think it would be more successful if it didn't have to live up to the book franchise. It works as a better than normal fantasy adventure flick, but it steps too far from the book in too many places to be a good adaptation. That what is probably the best sequence in the film is entirely non-canonical is the most solid proof I can back this statement up with. I really don't know what else to say. Try to pretend you have no familiarity with the names and you'll probably like this more.

Don't Mess With the Zohan:
Shut up, I went to see this with a friend. Like most Adam Sandler movies, it's a million times better if you're willing to drop your pretensions and just be amused. There are dead spots aplenty, but I've seen far, far worse. Rent it if you can get the right audience together and feel like reliving junior high...though Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison are probably both better picks for that.

The Incredible Hulk:
Good enough. I've never actually seen all of Ang Lee's Hulk pic, so I'm not going to try and declare which one is better. The whole movie felt a bit rushed, like they didn't want to waste too much time between action scenes, and I think the film suffers a bit for it. We really have no clue what drives Bruce Banner at all, other than his desire to not have this thing inside him anymore. Considering that, in the last 18 months, Marvel has had Planet Hulk and World War Hulk, I would have expected more (by the way, was World War Hulk any good? I only read the first couple of comics that were related. I liked Planet Hulk quite a bit. Seeing a scenario in which Hulk needed to keep Banner in check was an interesting spin).

Get Smart:
Don't go in expecting the amazing old TV show and you should be alright. It's a fun action comedy in its own right. Some good physical comedy and sight gags, and a few decent enough explosions. Worth a rental or a viewing in the cheap theaters if you're looking to keep busy.

Kung-Fu Panda:
I was very pleasantly surprised by this film. Within the first 2 minutes I remembered why I love Jack Black despite myself, and continued to be amused throughout. The fights were well choreographed without giving away entirely the fact that we were watching CG animation, and the moral was a healthy one. I'd put this at number 4 for the summer so far.

The Dark Knight:
People probably expected a big write up on this one. Sorry, not enough to talk about with this movie specifically. It was, for all intents and purposes, perfect. Heath Ledger played the best Joker I could have ever thought possible. Christian Bale still does an excellent Bruce Wayne - we could have actually used more of these moments just to remind us of this fact - and Two-Face was handled about as appropriately as I can think possible. I'm terribly excited to see where Nolan and Bale bring us with the next one - so long as it doesn't involve Angelina Jolie as Cat Woman. I'm finishing up Kingdom Come right now, and I'll probably have a long post on Batman in general before the month is out.


Now for some older films I've finally gotten around to seeing courtesy of my dad's Netflix account:

The Darjeeling Limited:
I like Wes Anderson...but The Darjeeling Limited didn't resonate as well with me as I'd hoped it would. Everything about the movie from the music to the visuals to the delivery screams Wes Anderson, and maybe that's why it doesn't work as well. This director that we once thought was so innovative and new is sticking too closely to a formula instead of doing something new. Maybe he was scared by the poorer performance of The Life Aquatic - which I'm fairly certain I enjoyed more than this, I need to see it again - but I'd like to see him try and tell a new story in a new way. I will forever love Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, but this just can't fly much longer.

In the Name of the Father:
Striking, but not as powerful as it would have you believe. In its time, or really any time before the Bush Administration and the Patriot Act, it probably would have had more pull, but the story of a young Belfast native wrongfully accused of and imprisoned for involvement in IRA bombings in London just doesn't shock the way it probably once did.

My Left Foot:
Another movie based on a true story staring Daniel Day Lewis in an Oscar nominated (and this time winning) role! How Lucky! My Left Foot holds up a bit better, just because the issues of crippledness and the way we treat those who aren't immediately apparent as our equals will never be comfortable. It's predictably inspirational without shying away from unhappy truths of existence. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Unforgiven:
Excellent. It's like A History of Violence with Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman as aging western gunman instead of Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello having incredibly awkward sex. Once I understood that Eastwood was trying to convince himself and not those around him that he wasn't a killer anymore, the whole thing fell well into place for me. It deserves its accolades.

Punch Drunk Love:
...It's a P.T. Anderson film. I had a look of puzzlement and wonder on my face throughout nearly the entire thing. I don't think that the notion of "taking an Adam Sandler character and making him believable" is quite accurate. Believable within the absurd world of the film, certainly, but that's nothing new, and he's still not believable in general. That said, the entire proceeding of the film just needs to be seen to be appreciated, and Anderson's visual sense in impeccable. It's a sweet tale of love blooming between two incredibly broken people for whom trying to fix their problems just isn't worth it anymore.

Millenium Actress:
Satoshi Kon has a wonderful way of keeping you from knowing what's "real" and what's "fantasy" in his movies and not really caring, and I'm starting to love him for it. Millenium Actress is a beautiful film about an aging star actress reliving her life through the image of her career and the parallels between her own life and those of her characters. It captures something vibrant about a life lived in pursuit of something always just out of reach in a wonderful way. I think that I'll need to try and grab this whenever I get around to picking up Paprika, as I think that each will just enhance my appreciation of the other.

Annie Hall:
I've said many times recently that I enjoy movies that make me smirk while leaving me a bit depressed. Annie Hall does that perfectly. It's nearly 30 years old, but the things it still has a lot of valid things to say about what we expect out of relationships and why they fail. I imagine that most of you who would like it have already seen it, though.


So, lots of movies. I'll just say a couple quick things and then I'll be done again.

Summer 2008 movie quality run-down so far:
1/2. The Dark Knight
1/2. Wall-E
3. Iron Man
4. Kung-Fu Panda
5/6 Speed Racer
5/6 Get Smart
7. The Incredible Hulk
8. Prince Caspian
9. Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
10. Don't Mess with the Zohan

That's all there is, there isn't anymore.